Caitlin Clark lands first Sports Illustrated cover
Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and DeWanna Bonner appear on the June cover of Sports Illustrated. (Credit: SI)
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark will cover Sports Illustrated for the first time with the release of the magazine's June 2025 WNBA preview issue.
Sports Illustrated confirmed to cllct Thursday the issue is the first print cover for Clark, who has previously appeared on digital covers for the publication.
Advertisement
For the magazine's 'Fever Dream' cover, Clark appears alongside teammates Aliyah Boston, DeWanna Bonner and Kelsey Mitchell.
Inside, the magazine features a dive into the Fever's rapid rebuild around Clark and its improved roster beyond the former No. 1 overall pick.
In a video shared to the team's social media channels Thursday, the Fever surprised the cover athletes with a first look at the magazine.
'That is fire,' Clark says during the reveal. 'Just beautiful. Beautiful work of art. I love it. That's sick.'
The cover stands as a key moment for Clark and her collectibles market, with magazine covers from publications such as Sports Illustrated rapidly growing in popularity in recent years.
Advertisement
Though the cover is Clark's first for SI, the Fever guard has appeared on multiple covers of SLAM. Clark also covered TIME when she was named the publication's Athlete of the Year for 2024.
Clark's first SLAM cover came in 2024, with a pull-out poster included in issue No. 249. That magazine, which featured Clark as an Iowa Hawkeye, has been graded by CGC more than 250 times.
A 9.9 example of the magazine, which is the highest in CGC's census, is set to sell at Goldin later this month.
Sports Illustrated covers, especially first appearances for key athletes and iconic photographs, have long been coveted among collectors.
Advertisement
To date, the record for any single Sports Illustrated issue is the $126,000 paid at Heritage in 2023 for a CGC 9.8 example of Michael Jordan's 1984 'A Star is Born' cover, which featured Jordan on the magazine for the first time as a professional.
Earlier this year, a collection of every Sports Illustrated issue from its debut in 1954 through 2023 sold for $158,600 at Heritage.
Clark's cover is the second for a WNBA star in recent months after Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese covered the magazine's '50 Most Influential Figures in Sports' issue in October 2024.
That cover was the second for Reese with Sports Illustrated following an appearance on the publication's 'Money Issue' in October 2023, which covered the new era of NIL.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Who Sits in Carlos Alcaraz's Player's Box?
Carlos Alcaraz is looking to win his second French Open title today, and he'll be supported on Court Philippe-Chatrier by his team and family. Here, a guide to who sits in Alcaraz's player's box: Former professional tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero has been coaching Alcaraz since 2019. They started working together when Alcaraz was just 16. Under his tutelage, Alcaraz has won the French Open, Wimbledon (twice), the U.S. Open., and seven Masters 1000 tournaments. 'The mental side is something we've tried to work on with him for a long time,' Ferrero said during this year's French Open. 'Routines, ways of behaving on court, how to pick himself up when he's in trouble, pre-match chats, chats the day before, preparations for matches... All these kinds of situations that arise with a player, we've been working on them for some time.' Another key person the coaching team is Samuel Lopez, who began working with Alcaraz on a permenant basis in December 2024 ahead of the 2025 season. During the Australian Open 2024, when Ferrero was undergoing knee surgery, Lopez stood in for him. Of his coaches, Alcaraz said, 'They trust each other 100 percent and being able to travel with both, for me, it's going to be great. I think I'm going to grow as a player thanks to them. I think we are going to work pretty hard and pretty good for the next season and the next years. Hopefully we are going to make good results together.' Another mainstay of Alcaraz's player's box are his parents, mom Virginia Garfia Escandon and dad Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez. 'I loved tennis since the beginning,' Alcaraz told Sports Illustrated in 2022. 'I mean my father brought me my first racket and the first time that I played tennis I fell in love.' When he won the 2024 French Open, he said to his parents, 'For me, it's amazing to have you here supporting me. Since I was a little kid, as I said many times, I was running from school to put the TV on to watch this tournament on the TV, now I am lifting the trophy in front of all of you.' His grandfather, Carlos Alcaraz Lerma, also sometimes makes an appearance. Alcaraz has two younger brothers and one older brother; his older brother Álvaro often travels with him and is in his box. 'I have my brother here as well,' Alcaraz said after he lost the the 2023 Cincinnati Open. 'It's great to have you here, supporting me every day, to make me be a better person every day, learning from you as well, so thank you very much for being with me.' 'When we prepare Carlos for any competition it is for him to win,' Moreno said. 'As a team there is no other goal in our head that is not winning the tournament we are entering. Also avoiding injuries, if possible, which is the biggest concern for the technical staff, being aware that achieving sporting results or performances can often come at the cost of caring for the body. But that's high-performance sport and we accept the challenge.' He added, 'Together with his manager Albert Molina and Ferrero, we're the people who spend the longest at his side. I'm available to him 24/7, 365 days a year. We know him very well and we know that all the physical work was done.' Albert Molina discovered Carlos Alcaraz at the age of 12, and has been on his team ever since. Alberto Lledo, Alcaraz's PT, is another core member of his team, having worked with him for the last five years. 'He has never said to me 'Why? Why do I have to do this job?' He has never said no to something, and that is very important for the process and the work. Carlos is a very good athlete. He is not only a good tennis player, but he is also a very good athlete," Lledo said. A newer addition to Alcaraz's team is Fran Rubio, a physiotherapist. You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
Jase Richardson drops to late first in recent Sports Illustrated NBA Mock Draft
Jase Richardson drops to late first in recent Sports Illustrated NBA Mock Draft A recent mock draft from Sports Illustrated has Michigan State Jase Richardson dropping to the late first round of the upcoming NBA Draft. In NBA Draft On SI's latest mock draft, Richardson dropped to the late first round, going No. 22 overall to the Atlanta Hawks. Richardson has widely been considered a late lottery or mid-first round pick so this mock from SI is definitely on the lower end for Richardson. Richardson starred for the Spartans during his lone season in college, playing a massive part in Michigan State winning the Big Ten and reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Richardson averaged 12.1 points per game and shot above 40% from three-point range, which raised his draft stock to where it was a no-brainer to enter the NBA Draft and leave after just one year. The landing spot for Richardson isn't a bad fit as he would have the opportunity to step into a playoff contending team right away in Atlanta. But dropping the later part of the first round would be disappointing to see since he has typically been mocked higher. The NBA Draft will be held on July 25 and 26 in Brooklyn. The draft will be televised on ABC and ESPN. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
New York Post
8 hours ago
- New York Post
ESPN's Lisa Salters missing Game 2 of NBA Finals due to personal matter after partner Stephanie White sits out Fever game
ESPN's top NBA sideline reporter will not be on the ABC broadcast of Game 2 of the NBA Finals Sunday night. Lisa Salters is missing the Thunder-Pacers matchup in Oklahoma City due to a personal matter, according to multiple reports. Jorge Sedano will fill in for Salters. Advertisement 3 Lisa Salters will miss ABC's broadcast of Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. Getty Images 3 Lisa Salters (r.) interviews Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (l.) after Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 5, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images While it's unclear what the personal matter is, Salters' partner, Fever head coach Stephanie White, missed her team's win over the Sky on Saturday due to what the Indianapolis Star described as a family emergency. Advertisement Assistant coach Austin Kelly was the acting head coach for the game. 'I really want to win for Steph, she's going through a tough time with her family right now,' Fever guard DeWanna Bonner told the Star before Saturday's game. 'We want to rally together and get this one for her, but it's also Austin's first time at the helm, so it's double-duty right now.' Salters, who is also the sideline reporter for 'Monday Night Football,' was a part of ABC's broadcast of the Pacers' Game 1 win on Thursday. 3 Fever coach Stephanie White (l.) with Caitlin Clark (r.) Getty Images Advertisement She's been with ESPN for 25 years, joining the network's NBA coverage in 2005 and taking over the 'Monday Night Football' sideline duties in 2012. She was previously a sideline reporter on ABC's college football broadcasts from 2006-10. Salters, 59, and White, 47, live in Nashville and share four sons, according to the Indianapolis Star. White was previously married to high-school sweetheart Brent McCarty; they got divorced in 2002. Game 3 of the Thunder-Pacers series is set for Wednesday night in Indianapolis.
